Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

A discussion of the novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Moderators: Bronze Haired Girl, una

Forum rules
Click for Forum Rules
Seeker-Mar
Wandering Through Town
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 2:49 am
Location: Michigan, USA
Contact:

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by Seeker-Mar »

dazzel21 I agree with everything you said! :D

openfire wrote:
And, I was really shocked that the newborns believed the "normal" vampire stories, eg burning in the sun etc. I did not expect
this at all! I was glad that Bree & Diago got to learn about the sun together.

The things that really touched me were the following:
-when Bree realised that Diago had been dead for days, and she just gave up. I felt her breaking inside... I hated Riley so much for this.

This part was heartbreaking, and I believe I fell in love with Edward a little more at this part...how that is possible I have no idea!
I was so shocked that they beleived the old legends too!
I felt her breaking too. I thought it made so much sense when she realized she knew all along. :cry:
I know, how did Stephanie make us love Edward even more? Really, is she magical? :lol:
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. James 3:17
Rae Cullen
Settled in Forks
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 2:07 am
Location: Washinton State

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by Rae Cullen »

Alright so I loved The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Sm's little novella was very exciting, interesting and wonderful. It truly gave her readers a look into what a newborn's world and what was going on behind the scenes of Eclipse. It was interesting in the fact that Bree Tanner had a tiny role in Eclipse, because everything was centered around Bella's thoughts and what she saw. So it was nice to see more of the vampire world through a "normal" newborn's eyes.

When I first heard that Stephenie Meyer was coming out with a new book that had something to do with a newborn named Bree Tanner from Eclipse I was in a way surprised. I will admit that I did not pay too much attention to Bree in the first place when I was reading Eclipse, I was caught up with Bella and what she was doing, not with a newborn. Anyway when I read her story I had mixed emotions. I wanted SM to go back and change Eclipse and give Bree a life with either the Cullens or Fred and Diego so then that way he would not have died. I was sad for her because her second life was not really any better than her first life and in both lives she dies too young. I felt that Bree just never got a chance when she was a human or a vampire.

Although her fate is sad and heartbreaking, I think she got her revenge through Edward and I thought that through her fate she can be with Diego. So thank you Stephenie Meyer, Bree's story was a sad one but I am glad we got to learn about her and more about what life is for a newborn. Overall another amazing book from the great mind of Stephenie Meyer!!
"No one ever bets against Alice...except the wolves."Image Image
Oh-Marvelous-Things
Settled in Forks
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 2:21 am
Location: USA

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by Oh-Marvelous-Things »

Squeeee! Yea, I loved this novella. It is such a quick, tragic story - just when I started to become involved with the story, her story abruptly stops. I love her last moments, though. She is fierce. She knows she's about to die, and yet she does the best she can to let Edward know that the Volturi are up to no good, and to let him know about Fred.

And when he tells Bree/Bella to close her eyes? SOB. I didn't cry, but I was dangerously close. I believe I will read it again this weekend, just to live in that world a little bit longer.
I am also extremely excited for the Eclipse movie now!
For the latest news on The Host movie, novel, and sequels, visit...
TheHostFan.com
bored by the sea
Hanging Up on Jessica
Posts: 651
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:25 pm
Location: United Kingdom where the weathers like Forks pretty much alll the time

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by bored by the sea »

o.k. soo here is my mega bree tanner reviewa-ish post (as prmised miss Raine :lol: ) :

the introduction by stepheniei really liked that she did this and kind of explained her thinking behind this story and what compelled her write it/ release it, and i loved the fact that she said " no perspective is ever really trivial" its true i loved reading midnight sun seeing everything from Edwards point of view and i really enjoyed reading this from Brees point of view, all the perspectives are valid.

beggining with the newspaper headline i really liked that she did this, as its no doubt the same headline that Bella and Edward are staring at in Eclipse obviously and it shows the other train of thought in viewing that headline, they are both reactions of fear but Brees ar all to do with the repurcusions of said headline.

the flipping of the car by the newborns this part was really quite visual, you could really imagine the woman in the car and ten it was slightly shocking when they fed from her, and this all led into us finding out how a true newborn thinks, how their mind works. and it also showed to us how the newborn coven are all quite segregated, i dont know about anyone else but when i was reading eclipse i felt as though they were a group that they had literally done everything together when Riley and victoria had created them .

the relationship between Diego and Bree when i started to see this developing i was kind of cringing thinking oh no shes not going to attempt to make this into an epic love story within the space of 174 pages is she :lol: i liked that she had them form a bond as friends at first and then how it developed, when Bree was waiting for diego to come back all that time and he didnt my heart broke a little lol.

smelly Fred :lol: this was genius!! the fact that his talent is the ability to repel people is a genius idea which i really didnt see coming an its a slightly different talent to what we have seen before although i guess it works in the same kind of way that Jaspers mood changing ability does. i wonder if the Cullens ever did encounter him? wouldnt that be awesome?!

old vampire myths i cant believe that the newborns actually bought Rileys stories of how the stereotypical vampire myths were true e.g. if you go out in the sun you'll turn into a pile of dust, it just shows how well he had them all conditioned/ trained, kind of impressive that he at leats got them to abide by these rules at least even if he hadnt trained them in the ways of true Twilight vampires.

the volturi were in on the plan yeah i guess we all saw it coming but i still yelped when i read it in the book, just proves our thoughts and the cullens thoughts that they are underhand, but i didnt foresee the fact that they had in fact visited Riley and Victoria.

Brees perspective on things i really appreciated seeing everything through her eyes, i did chuckle at the way she saw Edward "the red haired" vampire and the fact that she cottoned on to his abilities quite quickly, she was very perceptive i thought of all of the characters that she encountered, i think all along she was vaguely aware that something was not quite right with Riley and his motives. The way she viewed each of the Cullens individually was very intriguing, the way she saw bella " she seemed like she was a part of this world but didn't understand its realities" was slightly ironic as Bella does get most of its realities and bree is the one who has been misinformed :lol:

the ferry attack during the hunting trip like everyone else on here i found this quite scary and menacing.

edward hearing brees final thoughts i stupidly had never considered this possibility or even the fact that it was happening right under our noses, it was a genius inclusion in the story and into Brees perspective on her final moments, and kind of flips how Edward greets the Volturi when they finally arrive at the scene... because of Bree informing him of their involvment in riley and victorias plans.

When i read Eclipse i see Bree as kind of menacing and annoying and i think someone else has mentioned this, i thought Carlisle was mad to consider saving her and that it would never work, but having read this book i truly think it would have been possible for her to convert to the Cullens way of life and that she would have fit in.

all the newborns were runaways or people riley and victoria deemed to be down and out i dont think we find this out in Eclipse or if we do i dont remember it, i thought this was quite interesting, as in Eclipse it stephenie refers to missing persons reports being filed (of the humans the newborns have killed and the people riley has changed) etc so the people they had selected clearly weren't as down and out as they thought, im assuming they chose these people as they thought their dissapearances wouldnt pop up on the human radar.
o.k. im goin to stop hereb as i think ive rambled on for loooonnngggggggggg enough now lol.
Image
"If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not
give it? if it was someone you truly loved"- Breaking Dawn
**TEAM EDWARD**
dazzel21
Red-Eyed Vampire
Posts: 1894
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:44 am
Location: lost in Twilight zone

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by dazzel21 »

Thank you Miss Vicky. I just knew you were dying to post this thoughts right after you finished the Bree book... :lol: :lol:
"Because each and every one of us needs our own personal brand of heroine."
Image
~Team Edward Forever~
Darth_Yotho
Settled in Forks
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:51 pm

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by Darth_Yotho »

First post haha!

Before I start rambling ... I haven't finished the novella yet. But I just can't bare the thought that at the end we are gonna lose her. My boss, who also read the novella and finished it sooner than me was all like: "Yoeri get over it, she's dead, so dead, wacked up, gone, up in smoke, deader than dead." teasing me of course.

I thought Bree was an amazing character and I did pay some attention to her in the short 5min. she appeared in Eclipse. Well she was more of a side character. But still, while I was reading the part I was like :O ... is Carlisle really going to adopt this little girl into his coven? But then the Volturi said they didn't make any exceptions *aghum aghum* and killed her anyway.

I finally understand why there are so many more Newborn scenes in Eclipse to spice up the action. Boy o boy did The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner delivered us some horrific scenes and images. I really liked the action. The way Stephanie M. can make us fall in love with these new characters is almost a curse haha. Cuz like she said at the begining *which i thought was very very sweet of her* as we all knew the end would be tragic.

But here's my point. There are SO many Vampires with special abilities. I was just thinking something when I was brainstorming on ways how Bree could have still survived. Lets hope I can send it to Steph some day. Here it goes:
  • Now I know some of you might think this would come off as a cheat or just too random. But okay-- so Bree has learned to adapt to really hostile situations, for all her life. Giving her an inmense sense of self-preservation and surviving quality. (I mean look how she decided to stay behind Freaky Fred.) What if her 2nd life didn't end in the fire? What if Bree was special and had the ability that was based off of her life --surviving. Some sort of Rapid-tissue regeneration ... a boost a-top the normal regenerative qualities Vampires have.

    I had this dream where I saw the dying fire the Volturi and Cullen clan had used to burn all the new borns. The sun moving really fast like a fast-forward making the shadows of tree's dance. And then slowly but surely these pieces of dust between the ashes start moving towards a centre. Eventually they take on the shape of a 15/16 year old girl after a view months, with a sparkling nude skin made out of a thousand diamonds. Then we see a close up of these black irises opening in shock. We then realise it's Bree ... given a third chance only because her life never really started out or had ended happily. Bree seems to realise what had happend to her and cries.
That is my vision. Anyways I really enjoyed the short second life of bree tanner. I am very excited to see her in the movie Eclipse. It may sound strange ... but she has definetely become one of my favourite characters in the Twilight Universe.
Last edited by Darth_Yotho on Sat Jun 12, 2010 1:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bored by the sea
Hanging Up on Jessica
Posts: 651
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:25 pm
Location: United Kingdom where the weathers like Forks pretty much alll the time

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by bored by the sea »

dazzel21 wrote:Thank you Miss Vicky. I just knew you were dying to post this thoughts right after you finished the Bree book... :lol: :lol:
:lol: raine you know it, i made notes!!! ha ha
Image
"If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not
give it? if it was someone you truly loved"- Breaking Dawn
**TEAM EDWARD**
clpviolet
Teaching Eric Social Graces
Posts: 201
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 3:32 am
Location: multi-tasking in my room
Contact:

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by clpviolet »

Ok so I read this novella a couple weeks ago online....completely out of the blue cause I wasn't even planning on reading it. I guess I was still a little shocked that she *finished* it when I thought she was trying to stay away from anything having to do with vamps or werewolves/shapeshifters..... *cough*midnight sun?*cough*. Plus just reading it and knowing she is going to die in the end was kind of sad cause I was like wondering is she going to describe being torn apart or what?? :shock: :oops:

Anyways I went to SM site to see if they had posted any news like about the Eclipse movie, soundtrack, etc. and there was a link to read BT online so I was like what the heck and just got it over with it in a couple hours or something I can't remember exactly (cause I had to help my mom with dinner). So since I'm such a softy who cries at the littlest thing of course I ended up liking it and feeling sorry for her. :oops: and I do sort of wish that Eclipse could have a different ending so that Bree could have survived.....Maybe even include Fred cause he was cool and Diego cause I think he and Bree were like soulmates or something. :roll:
Image
"You put your arms around me and I'm home" Christina Perri - Arms
Jazzy'sgirl112108
Hiding Lauren's Hair Dye
Posts: 423
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:20 pm

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by Jazzy'sgirl112108 »

Oh my gosh!! This novella was amazing! I loved Diego, and was soooooo sad that he died. :cry:
My opinion on Riley totally changed too. To "see" and "talk" to him through Bree's eyes was very interesting. I loved Fred and thought it very sweet of him to offer to stay in Vancouver for her. Seeing more of Jasper's protective side was a treat for me, being team Jasper. :D
On the book itself, I found a bit of a rough transition between the dialogue and the descriptions in Bree's head. If that makes any sense. And it was a bit choppy at the end. But I loved Stephenie's writing style, as always!
Overall, I thought it a good book, and I hope this encouraged Stephenie to get back into the vampire wold of hers and write some more. I can't believe they got a million copies sold! Good for her! :D
Image
Betting on Alice.
TeamBellaAllTheWay
Settled in Forks
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 6:29 pm
Location: London

Re: Review Time: The I Loved Bree Tanner Thread

Post by TeamBellaAllTheWay »

What I loved most about this book was that is that it offered a completely different perspective on the vampires we see in The Twilight Saga. In Eclipse, the battle was simply divided into 'goodies' and 'baddies' and we didn't really get any insight into the personal and political aspect of it. There was a vampire army being created, but we didn't know that they were completely in the dark and didn't have a clue what was going on. I actually started to feel sympathy for Riley when I saw how he was being manipulated by Victoria. Also, it was fascinating to see how clueless these young vampires were. After reading The Twilight Saga and hearing all about the Volturi and the rest of the vampire world; all the battles and conflicts that take place, the animosity between werewolves and vampires, reading about a group of people completely controlled and ignorant about their own world created a great sense of being trapped, even i wanted to get out there!!!
i felt really sad for bree and diego though, after edward and bella's abnormal romance it was interesting to see how normal vampire relationships develop. They were really sweet together and we never see that side to Bree, or any of the other vampire army in Eclipse. It's just good vs. bad. Bree definitely deserved her own story. :)

Hmm..this novella really gave me hope that SM will write more...I was thinking maybe she could do another series, to do with the Volturi or something? The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner definitely showed the darker side of her writing. In Twilight, though crowded with vampires and werewolves and the supernatural, there is somehow a very human, real quality to the text (in Bella's words) and a sense of control is maintained, even after Bella becomes a vampire. We have been with her so long that even after the transformation we can relate to her just as much; her humanity sort of stays with us and it is difficult to regard her in a completely different light. Bree, however, doesn't demand that understanding. Assuming that this novella will be read by people who have already read the entire Twilight Saga, by now we already know enough about vampires to appreciate Bree's situation. And because we don't know Bree very well yet, the book is read with a lot of curiosity about the true nature of Bree's character, allowing us to feel the exact aura of mystery and eeriness that the newborns are surrounded by. Who are these vampires? What are they being used for? Why are they being controlled? Why aren't they more curious? And mostly, if Bree was part of the the vampire army, why is she narrating a book? Isn't she evil, and if not, why is she killed? SM is very clever in using a seemingly trivial character to show us the darkness and complexities of the vampire world. It is not simply vampires and humans and werewolves, hierarchies and divides exist within all species and I think this is what SM achieves best by writing this story.

ETA
clpviolet wrote:I do sort of wish that Eclipse could have a different ending so that Bree could have survived.....Maybe even include Fred cause he was cool and Diego cause I think he and Bree were like soulmates or something. :roll:
yeah, i think it was really sad how their relationship finished even before it properly started :( It was really sad at the end as well, she was so close to being able to become part of the Cullens' coven. Stuff could have turned out so well for her!


This is sort of pointless in asking, but did anyone else think that the 'Close your eyes' at the end (Edward talking to Bella) was actually meant for Bree in some way, as well? After all, he was reading her mind, and no doubt he would have felt some compassion for her. Whatever he felt, I'm pretty sure he did not want her to experience pain and death. The ambiguity of his words was interesting. :D
Image
Post Reply